ONE SHOW presenter Alex Jones has said her time on Strictly Come Dancing had been “brilliant”, as she missed a spot on the show’s final.

Ammanford-born Jones was voted off on Sunday night, in the show’s penultimate weekend, along with Australian actress, model and singer Holly Valance.

Gracious in defeat, Jones said apart from occasionally mistaking left and right while dancing, she had enjoyed her time on the hit BBC show.

And she went on to thank the people of Wales for giving her “overwhelming support” through the competition.

The 34-year-old said: “I’ve had an incredible time and when I’m old and grey I’ll look back at these three months and I’ll think ‘that was a brilliant time’.

“It has just been fantastic to meet all the other 13 dancers and everybody else back stage.

“It has just been an incredible experience.”

Jones’ professional partner James Jordan praised her for her dedication, saying: “If there was a trophy for the most improved dancer, for sure you would have won that trophy.

“You have been absolutely brilliant to work with, it has been an honour.”

Australian actor Jason Donovan, McFly drummer Harry Judd and Waterloo Road star Chelsee Healey will fight it out in the final in Blackpool.

Ammanford-born Jones and Valance came up short against sizzling performances by Healey and Donovan, who both scored the first perfect 40 scores of the series.

Judd also chalked up two 39 scores as the dancers performed two numbers each, leaving Jones and Valance at the bottom of the scoreboard ahead of the audience’s vote.

Jones was a regular favourite with audiences during the show’s ninth series which was its most popular to date with BBC regularly winning the ratings war with ITV rival X-Factor.

As many as 12.5 million people have tuned in to see how the gorgeous presenter and fellow Welsh stars Russell Grant and Robbie Savage have fared at the hands of the judges.

Jones said support from home was as big as when she first landed her job on the One Show and it spurred her on throughout the competition.

“The support was amazing – the same as when I got the One Show job,” she said.

“The support from Wales was overwhelming. Russell, Robbie and I really felt it and it gave us an extra push and being the only Welsh girl in the competition, I wanted to do Wales proud.”

All four judges raved about Jones’ waltz and salsa in Saturday night’s semi-final, saying she deserved her place given the vast improvements she had made. After a quick change of outfit from a long, white floaty dress with white gloves for the waltz, she donned a slinky backless number for the fiery salsa.

Veteran host Bruce Forsyth was won over, telling her: “You have turned into a natural dancer.”

And Alesha Dixon said: “It’s such a shame you doubted yourself in the past.

“You deserve to be in the semi-final – you have come a long way and we are really proud of you.”

Bruno Tonioli said: “You really are the belle of the ball.

“You have improved leaps and bounds.”

Despite some technical criticisms, notoriously tough judge Craig Revel Horwood also reserved some praise saying: “You have come such a long, long way.”

Fellow judge Len Goodman agreed, adding: “You look beautiful, you dance beautiful and you deserve to be here in this semi-final.”

Jones herself said: “We thought it could be our last dance so we just had fun.”

Jones said she will be putting her feet up in Wales for Christmas after a gruelling few months presenting the One Show and training for her Strictly routines.

Strictly Come Dancing’s live Grand Final will be broadcast on BBC One next Saturday and Sunday from Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

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